The MCU Thunderbolts – what DNA it shares with the comedian books and what’s lacking
Marvel has introduced the roster of the upcoming Thunderbolts film. And although it consists of just about all of the characters who have been rumored for the movie, there are some surprises and a few notable exclusions.
Confirmed for the film group are Taskmaster, US Agent, Ghost, Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, the Winter Soldier, and Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine – practically all of whom have some comedian historical past with the Thunderbolts group.
However there is no Baron Zemo – maybe the comedian ebook character most related to the Thunderbolts (because the group’s unique founder). And there is no obvious shock twist within the considerably redundant roster of spies and super-soldiers, one thing the idea of the Thunderbolts has usually relied on in comedian books.
So how does the roster of the MCU Thunderbolts relate to the group’s comedian historical past – and what are the important thing points of the Thunderbolts from comics that it appears to lack?
Let’s get into it.
How the film Thunderbolts relate to comics
Thunderbolts idea artwork that includes the total line-up #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/ed1aCknv6ASeptember 10, 2022
We’ll go forward and handle the elephant within the room proper off the bat: the MCU Thunderbolts revealed at D23 should not the unique model of the group in comics. Actually, not one of the MCU Thunderbolts have been a part of the unique group in any respect (and consider us, we’ll get into that).
That mentioned, practically all the group members do have a historical past with completely different eras of the Thunderbolts – although few of them really overlap. And the obvious idea behind the group – a bunch of apparently government-led black-ops superheroes organized below one of many world’s prime secret operatives – does relate to a number of of the Thunderbolts’ comedian incarnations.
And naturally, a number of the MCU Thunderbolts are certainly villains or former villains, and a lot of the others have checkered pasts on the very least. A minimum of three of them – Bucky, Yelena, and Taskmaster – have been the sufferer of mind-control/brainwashing. However the similarities and variations aren’t fairly apparent from a look.
First, the group and the way every of them ties into the Thunderbolts in comedian books:
The Winter Soldier
Imagine it or not, regardless of his shock inclusion within the MCU Thunderbolts, Bucky Barnes AKA the Winter Soldier really has the closest connections to the unique comedian ebook group.
There’s his longtime connection to Baron Helmut Zemo because the son of the villain who value him his life as Bucky Barnes in comics (the unique Baron Heinrich Zemo, after all), resulting in him turning into the Winter Soldier.
However greater than that, Bucky really led the Thunderbolts (opens in new tab) for some time after the story Avengers: Standoff! (opens in new tab), in an incarnation of the group that included lots of its unique members reassembled.
Ghost
Although her presence within the MCU could also be understated to date, with solely an look within the considerably underwhelming Ant-Man and the Wasp below her belt, in comics, Ghost has a protracted affiliation with the Thunderbolts within the era of the team that eventually became the Dark Avengers.
In that incarnation of the Thunderbolts, the group was a bunch of criminals who have been volunteering for a rehabilitation program meant to show them into superheroes which was led by none apart from Luke Cage.
And the subsequent character on the roster has a connection to that period too.
US Agent
John Walker AKA US Agent was the primary character we noticed recruited into the Thunderbolts by Contessa Valentina, again in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And as we mentioned, he is bought a longtime connection to the comedian ebook Thunderbolts as effectively – simply not the unique group.
US Agent was initially the warden of the Thunderbolts working with Luke Cage again when the group was meant to show supervillains into superheroes. And he stayed on once they turned the Darkish Avengers.
Now, he is half of the present model of the Thunderbolts, who’re the one superhero group allowed to function in New York Metropolis in Marvel Comics with out potential repercussions, as soon as once more below the purview of now NYC mayor Luke Cage.
Taskmaster
Talking of which, that incarnation of the group was based by the Marvel Comics model of New York Metropolis’s earlier mayor, Wilson Fisk AKA the Kingpin, who’s quickly to make his personal return to the MCU within the Echo streaming sequence.
This model of the group initially included largely criminals, together with Taskmaster in a short tenure as a Thunderbolt. Now, the NYC Thunderbolts have been revamped by Luke Cage into precise heroes – the one ones allowed to function in New York Metropolis because of legal guidelines put in place by the Kingpin.
Yelena Belova
Oddly sufficient, Yelena Belova’s stint as a comic book ebook Thunderbolt did not really contain Yelena in any respect. The Yelena who joined the third incarnation of the Thunderbolts was really Natasha Romanoff in disguise.
That was again when the group was a bunch of brutal black ops brokers working below Norman Osborn (who was retired from being the Inexperienced Goblin on the time and dealing for the federal government). Natasha joined to spy on the group for Nick Fury, although unbeknownst to her Osborn was conscious of her ruse.
Purple Guardian
Purple Guardian is among the few characters on the MCU Thunderbolts who has no direct comedian ebook connection to the group. However given his MCU connections to Yelena and his standing as a super-soldier, he appears to suit proper in with the opposite picks for the group on the large display.
Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
Like Purple Guardian, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Val for brief) has no direct comedian ebook connection to the Thunderbolts. Nonetheless, the group has usually had an overseer or organizer of some type, be it the unique group’s chief Baron Zemo; the third model of the group’s vicious spymaster Norman Osborn; the fourth model of the group’s organizer Luke Cage; and even the lately ousted former mayor of the comedian ebook New York Metropolis Wilson Fisk.
What’s lacking from the MCU Thunderbolts?
For starters, as we talked about, we anticipated to see Zemo front-and-center within the line-up. In spite of everything, in comics, he is the one who introduced collectively the unique group.
And naturally, it is that unique group, who were revealed in the first issue of the original Thunderbolts comic to actually be the villainous Masters of Evil in disguise pretending to be superheroes as a part of a plan for world domination, who set the tempo for later variations of the Thunderbolts usually together with shock twists within the idea or roster of the group.
Now, we might be foolish to counsel {that a} twist or a shock could be instantly seen within the MCU roster. It might hardly be a twist for those who may see it coming, proper?
That mentioned, we have been hoping to see some characters from the unique comedian ebook Thunderbolts within the roster as new inclusions – particularly Songbird, who later turned an Avenger. And to date, there’s actually nothing to sign a connection between the MCU Thunderbolts and the unique comedian ebook model in any respect … to date.
However Marvel Studios can be identified for misdirection, from altering the content material and context of scenes in its trailers to protect surprises, to downright mendacity about or hiding what they’re planning (Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man: No Manner Residence, anybody?). And if there’s anyplace to make use of that, it is with the Thunderbolts film.
We can also’t fake we will predict what the Thunderbolts film might be like by way of plot and tone – we’re simply on the very tip of the iceberg of the reveals. Nonetheless, we will use a little bit of creativeness to take a position (or at the very least hope) one thing extra is happening with the roster.
Marvel Studios additionally does not typically double-dip – and popping out with their very own Suicide Squad-like group effectively after Warner Bros. have already established their model of the group, it looks as if a stretch to think about the MCU merely doing their very own tackle that concept (particularly since The Suicide Squad director James Gunn as soon as pitched his personal model of the Thunderbolts to Marvel Studios).
We additionally want to say that with the inclusion of Yelena, Purple Guardian, and Taskmaster, Thunderbolts is coming off as one thing of a Black Widow sequel, however with out Natasha, after all.
With that mentioned, nonetheless, Rachel Weisz’s Melina can be a notable exclusion…. however given the Black Widows’ penchant for impersonation/disguise … is she? That is a dialogue for an additional day.
However what’s finally lacking from the MCU model of the Thunderbolts is the Zemo of all of it. Not simply the person himself (although we’re hoping he reveals up), however the nature of what makes the group distinctive in Marvel Comics – its skill to shock readers with surprising twists that shake what we all know in regards to the characters and the group.
There’s all the time the prospect Zemo continues to be a giant a part of the film – it wants a villain, in spite of everything. And maybe there is a deeper twist than merely adapting the large shock from comics available by making a brand new model of the group.
We won’t assist however think about the chances of as soon as once more reuniting Bucky and Zemo, particularly if there’s some additional twist to Zemo’s earlier manipulations of the Winter Soldier to be uncovered. Bucky was apparently deprogrammed from his Hydra brainwashing by Shuri in Wakanda – however what if there’s one thing extra lurking there, because of Zemo?
That is all hypothesis after all, however what we’re getting at is, Marvel Studios can deliver some much-needed punch to its Thunderbolts film by embracing the group’s comedian ebook roots – particularly the ingredient of shock that makes the group distinctive in a world of Avengers, X-Males, and different highly effective superhero groups.
The original Thunderbolts #1 is the greatest trick Marvel Comics ever pulled.
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